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Summertime in Missoula brings to mind a lot of wonderful activities: floating the river, paddle boarding, mountain biking, running the Missoula Marathon, hiking the pristine wilderness surrounding us in every direction, playing city league sports, walking or biking to the festivals in Caras Park or the Farmers market…the list could go on and on. Another word that comes to mind is HOT! It seems more so in the past several years that Missoula summers are just plain HOT!

What does this mean for all of those wonderful activities listed earlier? Staying hydrating, proper warm ups and regular stretching become even more important if you want to avoid those nasty muscle cramps and strains that could sideline you for part of the summer.

A few helpful hints:

Drink enough water that you have to urinate every two to four hours.

If your urine is darker in color, you are not properly hydrated.

Quench your thirst, it is the first warning sign. If you listen to your thirst as a cue to drink water you will replace 60-70% of lost fluids.

Respond to thirst immediately with small amounts of water or sports drink, but don’t get so thirsty that you have to chug a whole water bottle.

Sometimes your body can mistake thirst for hunger, so before you bite down on a juicy burger after your long day on the river, drink a tall glass of water!

Headaches are a common symptom warning you that dehydration is around the corner.

Hydration can come from a simple glass of water or foods with high water content:

For example, watermelon, cucumber, oatmeal, apples, cantaloupe, even meat! If you are participating in higher exertion activities such as soccer or ultimate frisbee, or just sweat a lot, sports drinks such as Gatorade are recommended to help hydrate and replenish lost electrolytes.​So get out and enjoy the Missoula summer, water bottle in hand!

Sitting, the new smoking? This and other tag lines have come to the forefront of what some are calling, “sitting disease.” Recent studies have shown that between 60 and 70% of Americans spend six or more hours sitting a day. Furthermore, studies show that if these Americans would cut their sitting time in half, (sitting less than 3 hours per day), their life expectancy would increase by roughly 2 years.​At MT ErgoFit we work with folks to create alternative office environments to reduce sitting in the workplace. Our treadmill desk line offers one of the best alternatives to the classic office sitting environment. People who are using treadmill desks on average of 3-4 hours a day are burning an extra 2000 calories in a 5-day work week. Our clients who are using the units are finding they have more energy in the afternoon hours of the day compared to when they would sit. They also report a fresher feeling at the end of the day rather than a “low-energy” type feeling they would have after sitting all day.

​A complete Treadmill desk unit starts at $1299, and standing desks conversions start at $450. These small investments can bring immediate positive health improvements, and based on the studies mentioned above, they may just help you live longer. Rethink the way you work . . . today.

Contact Ron Veilleux by calling 406-370-7040, or visit the website by clicking here.

Missoula sports fans! Another note from the muddy Captain’s Log.The C-Leaguered Alpine PT kickers have returned to Summer Co-Rec. league soccer for their 4th year this year. 2013 is shaping up to be a ‘well-balanced’ year on the win – loss ratio. We’ve encountered a few teams with the not-so-C-league-level strikers [READ: illegal A-league collegiate players] that have shown us that our defensive line has a few areas to improve… and we’ve had our share of jubilant victories. Staying in the middle of the pack, growing as a team, and having fun, our strongest suit.This year we have a bunch of new and returning Alpine Physical Therapy employee players rounding out the fantastic team. Kaylin Fairbanks, our new-grad DPT has been showing us her Mid-Montana “plowgirl” skills. Liz Doherty & Laura Porisch, two of our rockstar Alpine PT aides have also been representing their soccer prowess and bringing the heat to the mid-field. This year’s “Alpine Ultimate Soccer Mom” award goes to Antara Quiñones, DPT. She’s been bringing her new son, Javier and bad-daddy husband/sweeper-come-keeper, Francisco, out for the fair weather games. We’re still hoping Antara remembers the Capri Suns and orange wedges next week. We have many more awesome and unmentioned for blog’able brevity sake players. Just check out the picture, or better yet come out for spectating a game to see them in action.

Thank you to the Alpine PT management team for sponsoring our team for the fourth year in a row. We are sincerely appreciative to have a generous team sponsor to bring together our great crew for after-work, co-recreational fun and team work.– Captain PT, Brace Hayden

Doing untold numbers of post-race massages for our esteemed marathon participants today was hard work. But being together with a fantastic group of coworkers made it great. I believe we did close to the 120 massages (last count was 112 at just after 1:00), which is how many we did last year and the year before. I know it got a little tight at times with so many people nearly dying (running can do that to you) to receive one of our quality post-race sessions.

Special thanks to Angela and to Kristi for taking this event and running with it. Uh . . . pun intended! Organizing this entire event for us is a huge undertaking, and we know you put a ton of effort into making it come together so well. Great job! Missoula Marathon number 7 is in the bag.

To everyone involved, all the way from being at hugely the successful Expo, to the folks on the front lines, to massage coordinators, to bottle washers, to the Alpine runners, and to our tired-handed PTs, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Thanks for giving your time to be there in Alpine array and with your gorgeous smiles . . . and for steading the load for the team. We appreciate all your involvement!

Special thanks to guest author and Core Studio leader, Samantha Glaes for this informative and timely article.

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This weekend, thousands of runners will descend on Missoula for the 7th Annual Missoula Marathon. This event lasts three days, with a little something for everyone. The Core Studio’s sister company, Alpine Physical Therapy, continues on this year as a Missoula Marathon title physical therapy sponsor. Alpine has been on board with the Missoula Marathon since its inception, and The Core Studio is excited to participate in Saturday’s festivities alongside our fantastic therapists and support staff.

The Core Studio will set up under Caras Park’s tent around 8 a.m. Saturday morning for the Marathon Expo. Pam, Riley, and Dan will spend the day talking with runners about CoreAlign, Pilates, training, stretching, standing, and running posture, recovery, and also about the great sights and opportunities around Missoula. The Core Studio will bring a few pieces of equipment to try out, so take the opportunity to see what CoreAlign and Reformer are all about.

Right there with The Core Studio will be an assortment of Alpine therapists. They plan to answer questions about aches and pains, assess ongoing running issues, and help formulate a recovery plan. There may even be a little physio-tape involved. On Sunday (race day), therapists will lead a group warm up at both starting locations. Notably, the Alpine team will once again be providing post-race massages for over 120 half and full marathon participants to help facilitate a faster and more comfortable recovery after race day.

Overall, the Missoula Marathon is one of our favorite events of the year. We love the new and familiar faces and the sense of camaraderie among participants, volunteers, and supporters. The Missoula Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier, and even with those elevated stakes for some, the people on the course are the friendliest of any event around. Sunday’s races are a great opportunity to see the culmination of hard work and training and to find inspiration from athletes of all types and ages. So come see us at Saturday’s Expo, and maybe start to think about your own course tour in 2014. Then come by on Race Day to enjoy lemonade or a Big Sky Brew with everyone who crosses the finish line.​*We want to thank all the folks from The Core Studio who are poised to make this the best Marathon ever, as well as Alpine’s PTs. Special thanks to TCS instructor and Alpine superstar Kristi Moore for getting us organized for Saturday and Sunday. High 5 to you Kristi. You rock!

The PT staff at Alpine Physical Therapy are constantly seeking ways to improve their skills . . . and the results they get with their patients. Several years ago, our entire staff completed certification in Reformer Pilates. These approaches are the hallmark for our successful implementation of Pilates in our rehabilitation strategies.

Thanks to Sam Schmidt, one of our clinic leaders and a PMA certified therapist. She and Angela Listug-Vap co-presented to our PT staff a few weeks ago. Together they taught our team several new and exciting techniques and exercises.

The pictures I’ve included here are taken at our north clinic, showing instruction on the reformers and the chair.​For more information on our use of Pilates in our approach to rehabilitation, visit our clinic web page on the topic by clicking here.

Last spring, as a new member of the Alpine Physical Therapy team, I was asked to attend the CoreAlign Series at Alpine’s north clinic for educational purposes. While I was excited to learn about an up-and-coming form of exercise, I did not realize how helpful the classes would be to me personally.

I began the first of the CoreAlign series when I was two months pregnant. I attended classes twice a week for five weeks and left each class feeling taller and stronger than before.​After completing the first series, I did not want to stop, so I continued on to complete the full series as well as an instructor class. Although my pregnancy was progressing along, I did not feel as though I was losing abdominal strength but was in fact gaining it. I was able to stave off the dreaded “preggy waddle” until late in pregnancy and to continue hiking up until the day of giving birth.

I believe that CoreAlign exercises greatly assisted me in correcting my functional form as my pregnancy progressed, reminding me of maintaining that pelvic floor lift, inner thigh connection, and deep abdominal contractions during movement. In retrospect, I believe that CoreAlign exercises helped me avoid low back pain throughout my pregnancy, make it through an arduous labor, and experience a faster recovery after delivery.Today I utilize CoreAlign personally and with my patients to assist in correcting poor movement patterns in a functional capacity. I find it a perfect tool to quickly educate patients on a better way to get moving without pain.For more information, visit our websites at Alpine Physical Therapy and The Core Studio,